My aim is to offer insights into some of the more subtle principles underpinning prints. The commentary is based on thirty-eight years of teaching and the prints and other collectables that I am focusing on are those which I have acquired over the years.
In the galleries of prints (accessed by clicking the links immediately below) I am also adding fresh images offered for sale. If you get lost in the maze of links, simply click the "home" button to return to the blog discussions.

LeBlanc 5;
Katalog der Ornamentstichsammlung Berlin 4074 (See description of the series
Entrance of Emperor Sigismund into Mantua at the Victoria Albert Museum [with a
problematic/incorrect advice that these series consists of 24 rather than 25
plates]:
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1157017/the-triumph-and-entry-of-print-bouzonnet-stella-antoine/
also at: http://www.janjohnsonprints.com/BOUZONNET%20Emperor.html)

Condition:
Marvellously rich impression with no signs of wear to the plate and full
margins as published. The sheet is in good condition for its age. Nevertheless,
there is age related toning (i.e. yellowing) at the sheet's edges, a light fold
on the left and a few black specks (upper-left recto).

I am selling
this original and very crisp etching by one of the few well-documented women
artists from the Renaissance for a total cost of AU$127 (currently US$93.03/EUR82.18/GBP64.22
at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the
world.

If you are
interested in purchasing this print full of incidents from the day life of
antique Rome, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will
send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold

There are very
few well-documented women artists from the Renaissance and Baroque periods—from
memory, I can only think of six, but after a quick "Google search" I
discovered that there are ten ladies that history remembers. One reason for
them being remembered is that they had to be strong women. I mention this
attribute as their career path was strewn with hurdles set by the male
gatekeepers of the arts industry at the time. For instance, women were not
permitted to have formal art training and certainly not training involving nude
figures. Consequently, their training was provided privately by family and
friends.

In the case of
Antoinette Bouzonnet Stella's training as an artist, her family were all
printmakers and so she was fully acculturated into the industry from childhood.
Moreover, her career as an artist was underwritten by her uncle, the painter
Jaques Stella, who was a close friend of the legendary painter, Nicolas
Poussin. Jacques Stella not only mentored her artistic development but he also
"housed" her in his lodgings at the Louvre.

This print by
Antoinette Bouzonnet Stella which reproduces a panel of a mural painted by her
brother has a few interesting features that I need to point out. First, note
that the centre horse is urinating. This may be a horsey thing to do, but the
choice to portray this act of urination in a formal scene says a lot about the
artist and her brother. Next, this urinating horse has a bridle bit in its
mouth but there is no headstall or reins attached to keep it in its place. I
may not know a lot about horses but this feature is a mystery to me. If one
looks closely, however, the bridling of the other horses is also problematic.
For instance, the horse on the left has reins but no bridal bit.